Hypersociability

or

“Made you look!”

(… and click, and play, and submit personal information, and…)
 But first…
Progress Reports
(and swift kicks)
 According to Wikipedia:
In the context of transmedia storytelling,
hypersociability is the encouraged
involvement of media consumers in a story
through ordinary social interaction. A story may
be shared through discourse within a fan
group. Hypersociability lessens the need for a
publisher to offer fixed media. Instead,
storytellers hope that fans will build on the
story themselves either over the Internet or
through direct conversation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersociability
 Literally:

Hypersociability:
“An unusual willingness to
converse with others.”
“Theory of Fun”
 Case Study:

THE MATRIX
 The Kid:
(Case in point)

l utions
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rix Rev
Mat Animatrix

Clayton Watson
 Play Me:

M atrix Ma
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er t he P ath
Ent of N
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Matrix Online
 Enter the Matrix
• Was the first video game based on The Matrix series of
films developed by Shiny Entertainment.
• First released on 15 May 2003, the same day as The
Matrix Reloaded's North American release
• It sold one million copies in its first eighteen days of
release, 2.5 million over the first six weeks, and
eventually 5 million copies.
• Enter the Matrix was simultaneously produced
with the The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix
Revolutions.
• It was “Revolutionary” because it paralleled the
events of the movie, claiming to be the only way
to get the “whole story”
 In other words…
Enter the Matrix gives players control of two of
the minor characters in that film, Ghost and
Niobe, members of the same group of rebels as
Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo.
Niobe is the Captain of the Logos, the fastest
ship in the rebel fleet. Ghost is the ship's first
mate and weapons guru, and is a deep-thinking,
philosophical assassin.
The game takes place at roughly the same time
as the events in The Matrix Reloaded; a
character may walk out of a scene in the film,
only to walk into a scene in the game.
 The Website and more:
Lost now to the archives
of the internet was one
of the very first extended
experience website
games allowing the
audience/players to
“hack the Matrix” and
gain clues before the
second movie came out.
 The Matrix Online
A massively multiplayer online game developed by
Monolith Productions.

It was the official continuation of the The Matrix storyline.

The game began closed

beta-testing in June 2004
which was then opened for
people who pre-ordered the
game in November 2004.
Officially released on March
22, 2005
 MxO
• At the time, doubts about the game circled within
the industry, based on the lackluster reception of
the later two Matrix films and an overcrowded
MMORPG market.
• of The Matrix Online's defining and
differentiating aspects was its inclusion and
emphasis on what was called "The Continuing
Story". The game itself was the official
continuation of the universe, story and
characters established in The Matrix series.
 Mx-Uh Oh!
• Sony unexpectedly decided to discontinue
service to the Matrix Online due to low sales in
June 2009. Sony shut down the servers in
August 2009.
• A grand finale was planned where all online
players were to be crushed, but due to a server
glitch, most players were disconnected before
the final blow came.
• The event itself turned out to be a reprise of
several previous events like Halloween and New
Years, much to the disappointment of fans who
had hoped for something a bit more meaningful.
The Matrix: Path of Neo
Released on November 8, 2005.

The third video game based on the Matrix series

and the second developed by Shiny
Entertainment.

Players control the character Neo,

participating in scenes from the films
without major embellishment.
Comical Extentions
The Matrix Comics is a
collection of short comic book
stories set in the fictional
universe of The Matrix series.
Originally presented as
webcomics on the series' official
website, the stories have since
been featured in two printed
volumes published by the
Wachowski Brothers' company
Burlyman Entertainment.
Hypersociability?

What can be learned

from THE MATRIX?